Surrey pile pressure on Lancashire

Having dismissed Lancashire for a below par 287 on day one Surrey continued to hammer home their ascendancy with an unbroken century opening stand on day two of their Specsavers Championship clash at the Kia Oval.

The hosts went in at Wednesday’s lunch break sitting pretty on 150 with loss with Rory Burns unbeaten on 80 and Dominic Sibley with 54 not out – for an overall match deficit of 137.

Though beaten twice by consecutive deliveries from Kyle Jarvis, Surrey’s left-handed opener Burns countered with a glorious clip off his legs for four.

He moved to his 80-ball half-century in less glamorous style however, edging over the slip cordon to third man for a ninth boundary off the bowling of Jordan Clark. It was Burns’s seventh championship half-century of the summer.

Lancashire turned to spin for the 15th over of the day in the shape of Arron Lilley, but his sixth delivery was cut for three to backward point by Burns to raise a century opening stand in tandem with Sibley.

The visitors turned to spin at both ends with the introduction of slow left-arm from Simon Kerrigan at the Pavilion End, yet Burns and Sibley still looked totally untroubled.

Sibley’s crisp cover drive for four against Lilley then raised his third championship half-century of the summer from 130 balls and with seven boundaries.